Greeley, CO, USA

Greeley, CO is an SWB Seasonal Program

Program Background
The city of Greeley, Colorado is home to hundreds of resettled refugees, in particular from Somalia and Burma, many of whom land in Greeley for access to industrial and agricultural jobs. In early 2011, Lutheran Family Services (LFS) in Colorado supported the CO Force to launch initial programming for refugee youth in Greeley. Since that time, SWB Greeley has expanded under the leadership of staff from the Colorado Rapids Women and Storm Academy.  
 

Program Description

The Greeley program, developed by the Colorado Rapids Women’s pro-am franchise, brings together elementary and middle school students. The majority of participants are recenty resettled refugees from Somalia and Burma. Harnessing the power of soccer as a universal language, the program creates an environment where youth from diverse backgrounds connect across build meaningful friendships, community connections and powerful mentor/mentee relationships, which play an important role in their successful integration into their new lives in the US. Under the leadership of coaches from the Colorado Rapids Women W-League team and Storm Academy FC, more than 100 players ages 8-15 are participating in the program. 

Colorado Rapids Women and Storm Academy: The Colorado Rapids Women's team is a fifteen year old women’s sports franchise based in Northern Colorado, previously names the Colorado Force. The Rapids Women compete in the western conference of United Soccer Leagues W-League and currently reach 20,000 fans and participants each year through home games, clinics, camps, leagues, and tournaments.  The Rapids Women partner with the Storm Academy FC, a youth soccer club, to create multi-cultural soccer leagues and competition in Northern Colorado and local non-profit, Be Active, Be Strong, Inc.

Program Partners

Colorado Rapids Women

CO Storm Academy FC

Laura Musser Foundation

Program Staff

Amy Snider- Program Director

Meghan Belaski- Refugee Liaison/Grant Coordinator

Craig Gordon- Refugee Mentor Coordinator

Abby Smith- Refugee Liaison

Coaches

Grant Disselkoen

Daniel Gosch

Maddy Greathouse

Ben Holloway

Gena Sturgon

Mentors

Abdifatah

Abdul

Faisal

Faisal Hassan

Mohammed Yarrow

Moulid

Mubashir

Recent Highlights

SWB Greeley featured in the Denver Post

CO Force initial program launch